This invention relates to apparatus and processes for accurately positioning relatively flat materials on a surface and fastening those materials to the surface once positioned. More particularly, the present invention relates to apparatus for accurately locating flat stock such as shingles or the like on a surface such as a roof and for attaching this flat stock to the surface. The present invention is particularly useful for proper alignment of roofing shingles and attaching those shingles to a roof surface.
The attachment of flat stock material such as roofing shingles, hardwood floors and the like has been and continues to be a predominately manual operation. There have been some devices developed particularly for facilitating the placement and attachment of hardwood floors with examples of such apparatus being shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,619,895 and 3,764,053 both by E. T. Thompson. Such devices have found some acceptance for hardwood flooring applications but have not been accepted for roofing shingle attachment purposes because of their size, cost and complexity. Apparatus for aiding in the alignment of roofing shingles using special guides attached to the roof has been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 3,245,192 by Hilson and the application of waterproof sheeting to roofs has been suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 2,500,583 by Smith. Another arrangement for providing a shingle carrying and positioning cart is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,327 by Hernandez.
Despite the efforts to develop apparatus to assist the building trade industry in roof shingling, there is a continuing need for a relatively simple, lightweight apparatus which automatically aligns the shingles relative to each other without requiring special guide means attached to the subsurface. Further, there is a continuing need for a device which will not only accurately position and shingles in sequential rows but additionally provide accurate stapling or nailing of the thus positioned shingles to the subsurface. Particularly for residential roofing purposes, the device must be easily portable and adaptable for use on sloping surfaces.